At the Beams'

We spent Saturday kind of recuperating and planning the week at the Beams' house (our missionary partners/hosts).  They gave us an orientation so that we would know some of the important things about life in Bolivia...you know...liiike, how to greet people and...not to flush your toilet paper.  They spent some time telling us a little bit about the ministries we'd be working with (see links to your right -->).  Then the guys made a shopping list for their meals while out at the well-site.  I'm not sure what all they ended up with, but I definitely heard the makings of spaghetti, peanut butter sandwiches, and something Danny called his "hobo meal"--salami sausage, potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, and onion (sounds pretty good to me).  Then a few of the guys headed to the store with Danny while the rest of the guys stayed at the house and read, looked at Bolivian photo books, and rested.  The ladies met with Vanessa and planned our week working with the Ruth & Noemi Transition House.

When the grocery crew got back we loaded up all our stuff again to head to the hotel...where I personally took a shower and a nap.  It was glorious.  Then the Beams picked us up and took us to dinner in downtown Santa Cruz at a restaurant called Dossier...delicious!  It had started raining while we were inside, but we took a little stroll through the plaza anyway and it felt great and so refreshing.

Santa Cruz is a beautiful place with beautiful people.  It's crowded and busy, but also somehow peaceful.  You can tell that everybody works so hard, but last night (on a Tuesday), the plaza was full...I mean FULL...of young couples on dates, old men playing chess, and families enjoying some ice cream.  Okay, we were enjoying some ice cream, too.

More to come...
Michelle